Kidney Patient and Activist, Jose Cruz dies

jose Cruz

One of the country’s most outspoken kidney patients and activists, forty-one year old Jose Cruz, has died.  Cruz passed away at around nine-fifteen this morning in Santa Elena Town, Cayo. Cruz became widely known in the media a few years ago when kidney failure prompted him to speak out about a very lacking health system, not only for himself and those who need affordable treatment, but for all forms of medical treatment.  Cruz called our newsroom this past Thursday evening to request an interview to bring pressure on the Ministry of Health.  In June the Ministry signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the World Organization of Renal Therapies and two hospitals to introduce hemodialysis in the public health system.  Cruz’ request for the interview, which was scheduled for this morning, would have been to expose his disappointment that the MOU was still not being effectively adhered to and that some patients, in his opinion, were being treated more equally than others.  But the interview never took place because we received a call just before nine-thirty from his wife, Mileni, informing that he had just passed. News Five’s Marion Ali visited with her today in Santa Elena to touch on the life of Jose Cruz, the man, the patient, the activist who fought in his own way for the rights of kidney patients.

Marion Ali, Reporting

While his health had been steadily deteriorating for the last few years due to renal failure, Jose Cruz still showed a lot of promise.  His ardent effort to get the Ministry of Health, and by extension, the Government to provide kidney dialysis treatment and other costly medical procedures at an affordable price to poor Belizeans propelled him into the spotlight.  His unyielding approach and steadfastness in imparting his views on healthcare in Belize earned him the chance to get audiences with key players in the Ministry and those opportunities resulted in positive outcomes.  Cruz, first fell ill ten years ago and his condition worsened late last night.  He slipped off while seeking help at this grandmother’s house today.  His wife, Mileni Cruz, sat with us today.

mileni cruz

Mileni Cruz, Jose Cruz’ widow

“He just started with a bad back pain and he couldn’t bear it then he started to throw up about four to five times in the night. I hardly slept. And in the morning it was time for him to go for dialysis but I had to go into the town before I go to dialysis treatment. So I drop him to his grandmother’s house because he asked me to drop him there so that she could massage his back. I went into town, took about ten fifteen minutes, came back and he was dead. His grandmother didn’t know he died.”

Marion Ali

“He died during the massage?”

Mileni Cruz

“Yeah.”

Mileni Cruz says in retrospect, while her husband remained positive, he was giving her signs from Thursday when they visited his dialysis nurse in Belize City that his time on earth was nearing an end.

Mileni Cruz

“We went to hail Nurse Coc and he was telling Nurse Coc I tried to accomplish everything for my patients. You know the battle still isn’t done here. I need to fight more, I need to be an advocacy for my patients, I need to fight for my patients’ rights, my patients deserve better. And I told him, you know what are you talking? You’re not a doctor. What are talking about patients? You are a patient yourself. And he said well I’m Doctor Cruz, I’m Doctor Cruz he said jokingly and we were laughing. And he said you know what this is what God want me to do.”

Mileni Cruz explained why her husband wanted the interview with us today.

Mileni Cruz

“It’s not coming in the right way how I want it in the memorandum. I don’t know who changed it but you know what at least the patients can get their dialysis. He was upset because Adrian Harris only had it one session in dialysis provided by the government and certain patients that would just come in will get two sessions because of political reasons.”

Marion Ali

“So Mister Cruz thought that the whole system was not fair to everybody?”

Mileni Cruz

“Not fair. He believed that if a dialysis patient had three session and the government is giving three it should be equal straight across the board.”

One of the persons who knew Cruz well and worked with him is Belize City Mayor, Zenaida Moya Flowers, who even had a nickname for him.

zenaida moya flowers

Zenaida Moya Flowers, Mayor, Belize City

“I call him fudge. Fudge had called me a little while ago to ask that we work together on a project that had to do with meat packaging. Something that had to do with the market and also it was gonna collaborate in order to be able to raise funds for dialysis patients. It was something that was positive. There was a lot that he has managed to get done, some initiatives that I know he wanted to complete. But I guess some people will have to take up the mantle and push for the causes that he was pushing for noh.”

That effort might very well come from Cruz’ wife who says she is now contemplating of keeping his memory alive by carrying on with his fight.

Mileni Cruz

“I’m thinking about it [chuckles] I’ll say one thing, if the patients will stand and fight, I will be by their side. I’ll be there for them.”

Marion Ali for News Five.

The late Jose Cruz will be buried in Santa Elena on Sunday after a funeral service at his home in Central Farm.  He is survived by his wife, Mileni Cruz and their six children. The couple celebrated their eighth anniversary this year and on December seventh thieves broke into their other house in Santa Elena and stole all his household belongings.